Just Write...or should I?

In my last  blog

All That Damn HELP...

...I discussed  what to do with all the help that is available on the net for "wanna-be" writers. I decided that a lot of us get to involved with "All That Damn Help". 

We end up spending most of our writing time in the "help world" of the net and not enough time writing.   Conversely, writers who have created some kind of name, either in blogging or writing books or both, spend a lot of time trolling the net for "wanna-be's". 

That's natural. They have the knowledge and experience. We need the knowledge and experience. They have the right to make some money on what they have learned and we need to spend some money on what we need to learn.

My thought is that we need to avoid getting bogged down in "All The Damn Help". 

We need to write.

So...naturally the god of writing guided me to Larry Brooks who writes on Brian Klems blog... The Upside and the Downside of the So-Called “Best Writing Tip Ever”...

...that I'm full of baloney...No, Mr. Brooks didn't point at me or name me,..he has no idea who the hell I am and I'm sure has never read one word of what I have written...

but...he meant me and those that give the advice..."just write"... and he makes some great points.

He writes...

on the advice to "just write"

... “Actually… this might be, for some of you at least, the worst possible writing advice you could ever hear.”...

He continues...

..."To explain why, two propositions are required.

·         First, you must accept that a novel is a complex thing, and that the skill sets and tool chest of the enlightened writer stem from a long and varied list. If you think writing a good novel is as organically simple as beginning-middle-end, and that it takes no more knowledge than what you have picked up as reader of novels, then sure, go for it.

o   Just write. Wing it. See how that works for you.

·         The other proposition is that writing a novel is just as complex as many other avocations, in that it isn’t something everyone can do successfully without first learning a few things and then practicing until they become internalized.

o   For example, imagine if you suggested to a young doctor, prior to finishing medical school, that she just cut. Or tell a new lawyer to just talk. Or recommend to your daughter as she preps for your learner’s permit that she just drive. Play golf? Forget the lessons, just swing. See how long it takes you to make the tour… because becoming a professional in this analogy is precisely the goal of the writers who are reading this.   

o   Dire consequences await for each example, because each endeavor is important. We’re not talking about a hobby here, this is your dream.

… if you are possessed of the full spectrum of writing wisdom – the stuff that those famous authors already understand when suggesting that you just wing it – then the just write idea might fit right in with your process....

...Don’t kid yourself. All those noble goals equate to you becoming a professional.

And professionals don’t just write… until they can and should."....

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Okay...how do we become that "professional"?...by reading?...by watching tutorials?...by going to college?...sure all of those things would certainly help us get "Larry Brooks' DPR" ...(Doctor of Professional Writing"), but wouldn't writing help...even just a wee bit?

How do you judge our writing if you won't let us write?

Am I hearing I shouldn't write anything until I get that degree?

Am I hearing that doctors shouldn't do their internships? How do they become "professional" without the internships?  How do lawyers become "professional" with out writing thousands of briefs?

In other words...we need to practice...we need to write...this blog may not be the greatest, but if I don't write this...when do I write?

How about a compromise...

How about..."just write...and just read...and just buy advice from the writers of the net"...

Would that be okay?

larry Brroks can be seen at http://storyfix.com/

Drop in..he has some good stuff...

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gs batty/wanna-be